Temporal Displacement (Really Sucks)
by darkling59
Summary: Sent back in time to retrieve the runaway hogyoku, Ichigo and Uryu find themselves at odds with a version of Seireitei that refuses to see them as anything other than enemies. Five years before his exile, Kisuke finds himself presented with a fascinating specimen: an oddly human-looking hollow, capable of removing its mask, and bearing a live zanpakuto.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Temporal Displacement (Really Sucks)  
**Author**: darkling59  
**Fandom**: Bleach**  
Date**: 1/30/13  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bleach in any way, shape, or form.  
**Summary:** Sent back in time to retrieve the runaway hogyoku, Ichigo and Uryu find themselves at odds with that version of Seireitei. Five years before the events of 'Turn Back the Pendulum', Urahara finds himself presented with a fascinating specimen: an oddly human-looking hollow, capable of removing its mask, and bearing a live zanpakuto. On Yamamoto's orders, he is to use any means to necessary to figure out what it is and where it came from. (Missing Scene)

Please read and review!

* * *

"Got it!" The shinigami's triumphant shout barely turned Ichigo's head, but the consequence was unavoidable.

Ichigo staggered and fell as something small and sharp dug deeply into his leg. The wound wasn't nearly deep enough to keep him down for long, but he just couldn't seem to…keep his…eyes…open…

"Kurosaki!"

He heard Uryu's concerned yell in the distance, right before the tranquilizer forced him into unconsciousness.

* * *

He woke up staring up into a pair of wide grey eyes, framed by familiar pale blond hair.

"Wha-?"

"Ah, hello!" The blonde man stepped back with surprising speed, allowing Ichigo to take in the full picture, and compose himself. This definitely wasn't the Urahara he knew. This version was clean-shaven, and wearing the standard uniform of a shinigami captain. Perhaps most surprising was the absence of his hat; the familiar dark shadow over his eyes was conspicuously absent, making him look remarkably…young. He was fidgeting with the scalpel in his hands, and his eyes were darting around, rarely meeting the vizard's confused gaze.

Wait…scalpel?

"What-?" Ichigo took a moment to clear his throat, realizing for the first time that it felt like someone had lined his mouth with cotton. "What are you doing?"

"Just a few standard tests." The shinigami smiled reassuringly, looking down at him with innocently curious eyes. Well, innocent in comparison to the geta-boshi that Ichigo knew. "Nothing to be concerned about!"

"…Tests?"

For the first time, Ichigo realized that he was _strapped down_ to a padded medical examiner's table, in an otherwise bare room. He had reiatsu binders around his neck, wrists, and ankles, and wide leather bands crossing over his chest, abdomen, thighs, and calves. Worse, he had been stripped down to only his pants and his zanpakuto was missing. They certainly hadn't taken any chances when restraining him.

But why would…? Oh, right. In the past with Ishida, searching for the hogyoku, shot, captured, etc.

Damn.

And hadn't he heard at some point that Urahara used to be the captain of Mayuri's squad, the one famous for dissecting people?

Sensing the growing alarm in his prisoner, Urahara laughed weakly and waved his hands in what he hoped was a disarming gesture. The scalpel's presence made it considerably less harmless.

"No, no…nothing that bad, I promise you! I simply need a few samples."

"Samples? Of wha- hey!"

The scientist swooped forward without warning, deftly cutting off a few locks of Ichigo's hair. When he held them up to the light for examination, small shards of white bone shone between the strands. Urahara's response was a satisfied smile that _really _reminded Ichigo of the man he knew. He wasn't sure if that comparison was a good thing or not.

"Of your mask, of course!"

It took a moment to connect the statement with his former question, but Ichigo immediately felt a pang of foreboding. They had seen him unmask and knew what he was, and what he wasn't. So much for Plan A. Ishida was going to be _pissed_.

"Now, if you'll excuse me…" Urahara moved to leave, hair/mask sample clutched in one hand.

"W-wait!"

"Hm?" to his surprise, the captain of the twelfth _did _stop, free hand resting on the door, and looked at him expectantly.

Ichigo was once against struck by how _young _he looked. Had Aizen really done that much damage? How old was Kisuke in his own time, really? Wait…how would that even work? If he was young now, did that mean he would still be old in the future or was he younger than the older that… Argh. Time travel was confusing.

"My...friend. What happened to him?"

"I'm sure he'll be found soon." Urahara sent him a reassuring smile that his captive returned with an arch glare. Why would he _want _Ishida to be found? So long as Uryu was at large, Ichigo had a chance of being rescued and finishing their mission. Otherwise, they'd be screwed; stuck in the past of a different dimension amongst shinigami who had no reason to keep them alive. With so much evidence painting the time travelers as enemies, it would be nigh on impossible to convince the Gotei otherwise, even if they told the truth. (It wasn't like they would believe them, anyway. A half-hollow and a Quincy working with the shinigami? _Uryu_ barely believed it most days.)

"And…what about me? What IS this?"

"Ah, well…" Urahara's free hand came up to scratch sheepishly at the back of his head. He shot an apologetic looking smile at Ichigo, and shrugged. "I've been given leave to conduct some minor experiments."

"_Experiments?!_"

"See you later, Hollow-san!"

"Wait…what experiments? Hey!"

This time, Urahara simply smiled and waved goodbye. The door closed behind him with a quiet click, leaving Ichigo alone with his thoughts.

He was pretty sure the older man wouldn't do anything to hurt him, at least not permanently. Granted, being a hollow hybrid in a shinigami's hands was never a desirable situation in this era but he would much rather be in Kisuke's control than Mayuri's or Soifon's. It would probably be much, _much _harder to escape from under Urahara's keen eyes, but at least he'd be in one piece.

After a thorough investigation of his bindings and the room around him, Ichigo lay back with a disheartened scowl. He was right; it would be impossible to escape from this on his own. Unless something happened to give him a fighting chance, all he could do was sit back and wait for Ishida to come to his rescue.

He was never going to hear the end of this.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I REALLY should not have written this. I have so much to do, and several other stories that need attention…but this was the only thing able to break through my writer's block. Still, I'm not expecting much of a response to this idea and I don't intend to continue it if no one wants to read it.

Erm…time travel fics are sort of my guilty pleasure. I really enjoy reading and writing them but, surprisingly, that isn't the reason behind this ficlet. (Nor is the fact that Uryu should really get to participate more…he'd be a main character of this story if it had more chapters.) I don't want to give anything away (especially if I don't write it out), but if you watch Supernatural, this is a situation like what happened with 'The Colt'. *Spoiler removed*

Anyway…

**Please Review & let me know what you think!**

I doubt I'll continue it, but if enough people express interest, I might.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title**: Temporal Displacement (Really Sucks)  
**Author**: darkling59  
**Fandom**: Bleach**  
Date**: 5/31/13  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bleach in any way, shape, or form.

Please read and review!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

_I am __never__ going to let him hear the end of this._

Uryu ducked into an alleyway, hunching over behind a garbage skip to avoid being seen by a passing search party. Not for the first time, he wondered whether Quincy white _might_ not be the best choice of color to wear when trying to infiltrate Seireitei. He took great pride in his heritage, but advertising it so blatantly when the people hunting him down were wearing black just seemed foolish.

Then again, Ichigo was wearing black and _he _was the one currently enjoying the dubious hospitality of the shinigami.

_Dammit, Kurosaki! One job…you had ONE job…!_

At the time, making him the distraction seemed like the logical strategy. Ichigo could lead the shinigami on a merry chase using his high reiatsu to draw them away and his attire to pass unnoticed. He'd confuse the searchers and keep them chasing shadows, leaving Uryu free to search for the hogyoku. It was a basic plan, but solid. The ONE thing that could screw it up was if Kurosaki did something to make himself stand out from the crowd, in a way that would cause all other shinigami to immediately turn on him.

Something like pulling out a hollow mask, for example.

In retrospect, putting the orange-haired vizard anywhere near a plan involving discretion had been a bad idea.

Now, thanks to Ichigo's little stunt, the shinigami thought there was an army of hollow-monsters invading instead of a couple lost ryoka, as they'd previously assumed. They'd gone from annoyed and inattentive to hyper-vigilant and paranoid. Uryu was trapped in the very middle of Seireitei, making his slow way toward the agreed upon rendezvous point in the thirteenth division grounds, away from prying eyes and public roads. It wasn't like he could actually search for the hogyoku with shinigami crawling all over the place; he might as well wait somewhere quiet for Ichigo to bust out so they could re-strategize and come up with a new plan. He didn't doubt for a moment that the vizard could escape; Ichigo pulled off more impossible feats on a daily basis.

Hell, he'd probably make it to the meeting spot before Uryu, at this pace. The bigger problem was figuring out how to canvas the grounds before their deadline; when Urahara's portal opened, they had to leave, whether they had the hogyoku or not.

Becoming trapped in the past was _not _an option.

* * *

Ichigo had no idea why he was so tired. Maybe the tranquilizer had some lingering side effects or he'd been injected with something else while unconscious, because even though he was far from relaxed and his adrenaline levels were still high, he found his eyelids drooping. Eventually the teen found his eyes slipping shut, obscuring the boring, dimly lit lab with darkness. The first few times it happened, he forcibly woke himself up, determine to stay on guard.

As time passed, his dedication wavered. Nothing was happening and it seemed like Urahara was satisfied with the samples he'd already taken. Besides, it wasn't like there was anything to look at and the sound of the door opening would warn him if anyone came in. What would it hurt, to close his eyes for a few minutes? Even if he dozed off, he was a light sleeper…the door would wake him up.

Eventually, the prisoner allowed his eyes to slip shut. The strong tranquilizer still in his system was finally able to do its job: Ichigo's breathing quickly evened out as deep, dreamless sleep pulled him under.

He didn't wake up when Urahara returned, an anxious smile on his face until he realized his subject's state of unconsciousness. At that point, the nervousness faded away behind a satisfied smile and he got to work.

When he was finished, he turned the lights off completely and left the door ajar, willing to let the vizard sleep in peace.

.X.

Ichigo woke up to a sharp pain in his thigh and stabbing brightness beyond his eyelids. His leg automatically flinched away from the pain and he winced, then scowled and opened his eyes to give Urahara a piece of his mind.

It wasn't Urahara.

"Specimen's stress response similar to that of a human. " The sibilant, precise voice made Ichigo's blood run cold. Or maybe it was the sight of a different looking but still obviously insane Kurotsuchi Mayuri standing over him with a bloody scalpel.

"W-what are you doing?! Stop!"

"Topical musculature appears to resemble that of a shinigami rather than a hollow." Completely ignoring Ichigo's protests, the mad scientist lowered his knife to make another incision. Ichigo tried to squirm away but was easily pinned in place by the straps on his lower body.

"Oi! That's not…"

The next incision was deeper and Ichigo felt the blood beginning to pool under his leg. He twisted and writhed frantically, shouting protests, but it was a futile effort – the restraints were too strong and Mayuri was just as focused as always. After all the horror stories he'd heard about the captain of the twelfth, this was _not _a situation he'd ever wanted to experience. Surely Urahara wasn't condoning this? He wouldn't…

No. He _wouldn't_.

"Hey! STOP!" Ichigo pitched his voice louder, clearing out the final vestiges of sleep. He didn't want to yell for help, but if he had to…

"Hm." Those weird, false eyes turned on his face with a contemplative expression. "Subject does not appear to have a hollow hole. Further experiments should include dissection of the thoracic cavity."

When the knife plunged towards his chest, Ichigo decided his pride wasn't worth it. He threw back his head and howled.

"URAHARA! OI! YOUR CRAZY SCIENTIST IS TRYING TO KILL ME!"

The sound of something falling in the distance, followed by a clatter and running footsteps heralded the captain's arrival. He appeared at the doorway out of breath and wide-eyed, and took in the situation in a glance.

"Ah, Mayuri-san. What seems to be the problem?"

Ichigo breathed a quiet sigh of relief at the sight of his not-quite-mentor.

"I am performing an experiment on this hollow." The painted man's tones were clipped and dismissive, almost angry.

"Ah, but I gave express orders that this one was to be left alone." Urahara minced in between Mayuri and the table, forcing the younger man back. Obviously unhappy, the third-seat sneered but reluctantly gave up his position.

"I see. When that changes, I will return." Neither Kisuke nor Ichigo were under the illusion that 'change' meant anything other than a better opening. They watched silently as Mayuri swiveled on his heel and stalked away, all but slamming the door in his wake.

Grudgingly, Ichigo muttered. "…Thanks."

"Ah, no, Hollow-san. That was my mistake, I'm afraid. Oh dear." Urahara considered Mayuri's handiwork for a second, then pulled a suture kit out of his pocket and began to sewing it back up.

Ichigo refrained from rolling his eyes (he had it in his _pocket_? That was such a Urahara thing to do…) and dropped his head back onto the surface.

"Hey, why can't you just use kido?"

The stitching paused for a moment, then resumed more slowly. Thoughtfully.

"Our instruments are treated with sekkisekki stone to inhibit reiatsu-based healing in our more…exotic…experiments."

O…kay. That was disturbing.

"Hollow-san, might I ask a question?"

"Huh?" the vizard craned his neck to look at the other man. He was still stitching but seemed to be feeling his way along because his eyes were fixed on Ichigo's face, intently watching his reaction.

"I don't believe I ever told you my name…"

_Oops. _Ichigo swallowed around the sinking sensation in his stomach, mentally scrambling for a response as he stared into the scientist's curious gaze.

* * *

Six hours after Kurosaki's capture and four after Uryu arrived at the meeting point, the Quincy finally concluded that Ichigo was not coming.

He'd spent most of that time in the trees and shadows as close to the road as he dared, eavesdropping on the search squads. Their state of fear hadn't lasted long and as they became more comfortable, they started to _gossip_. Uryu had learned more than he'd ever wanted to know about the personal lives of some shinigami, but absolutely nothing relevant. No one mentioned a prisoner, a wish-granting stone, odd occurrences, strange people…

Granted, none of these peons were over a sixth seat level so they wouldn't be privy to the workings of their superiors, but you'd think _something _would slip through.

On the other hand, he wasn't entirely without intel. If Ichigo had been captured and needed help to escape, Uryu had some experience with detention facilities in Seireitei that could prove useful.

When he'd been imprisoned along with Chad and Ganju, they'd been confined to cells in the fourth division until Orihime and Zaraki broke them out (it was years later and Uryu still didn't know how that partnership came about). If that was where they kept all of their prisoners, then Ichigo was currently cooling his heels under the watchful gaze of Unohana-taicho.

Uryu would have to proceed with great caution. He'd never encountered the captain of the fourth personally, but he'd heard horror stories about what happened to those who invaded her territory. Normally, he wouldn't take such warnings seriously (they were common amongst shinigami about ALL of the captains) but these were spread by Ikkaku and Ichigo, who were not known for cowardice.

Grim expression firmly in place, Uryu snuck away from his shadowed refuge and back into mainstream Seireitei. If he was lucky, it would only take an hour or two to make the trek across the city to the fourth division. His current location between the twelfth and thirteenth divisions was about as far away from it as possible.

* * *

**Author's Notes**:

Wow…just _wow_.

Twenty-four reviews…

You guys are AMAZING. Thanks so much for your support!

Due to the overwhelming number of people who expressed interest, I will be trying to continue this story. It will be sporadic for the moment (I'd already committed to four other stories before I started 'Temporal Displacement') but once I have some free time, hopefully that will change.

Also, I've been considering changing the name to either 'Paradox' or simply 'Temporal Displacement'. If you have an opinion either way, just let me know in the comments or vote in the poll on my profile.

I hope you liked this chapter & I look forward to hearing from you in the reviews!


	3. Chapter 3

**Title**: Temporal Displacement (Really Sucks)  
**Author**: darkling59  
**Fandom**: Bleach**  
Date**: 7/18/2013  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bleach in any way, shape, or form.

Please read and review!

* * *

The more Uryu thought about his plan, the less satisfied he was with it.

He knew his facts were straight; as an injured ryoka, he had been medically treated and then confined to a cell within the fourth division under the watch of Unohana-taicho, one of the oldest and most feared captains. It was the easiest place for a prisoner to be taken care of in the short term and Unohana's presence made escape extremely unlikely.

But he knew that the Fourth Division wasn't the only place to keep prisoners in Seireitei. Aizen definitely wasn't confined there, after all, and Rukia had been kept somewhere entirely different while awaiting execution. The onmistsuko probably had its own cells and he was fairly certain there was a bigger facility where shinigami that had broken the law were kept. His mind shied away from considering his grandfather's plight.

But as far as these shinigami knew, Kurosaki was neither a long-term threat like Aizen, nor a convicted criminal like Rukia, nor a shinigami. And he had not been captured covertly like Uryu's grandfather. Here and now, he was a ryoka with strange powers, as all of them had been when they'd broken into Seireitei to rescue Rukia.

Of all the options, Squad Four seemed the most likely.

Uryu buried his misgivings and continued on his way.

* * *

"Well..uh...y'see..." Ichigo stuttered, mind racing. He had to keep reminding himself that, regardless of appearance, this guy wasn't Urahara and acting like he was could prove fatal. Or at least unpleasant.

No, actually if Yamamoto or Mayuri got involved, the word 'fatal' would be all too apt.

A light bulb went off in his head.

"I heard Mayuri say it!" He mentally congratulated himself (and hoped his excuse hadn't come too late).

"Ah, that makes sense, then!" Urahara smiled and turned away, finishing off the last suture with a flourish. "All done!" He walked past the head of the table and out of Ichigo's range of sight, doing something that involved a lot of shuffling and clinking.

"What-" Ichigo tried to crane his neck at an impossible angle to see better, but all he managed to do was strain his neck.

"But, Hollow-san..." After a moment, the blonde captain's face reappeared, hovering upside down over Ichigo's face. He set his hands on the table on either side of his prisoner's head and leaned forward until they were eye to eye, about six inches apart. "How did you know HIS name?"

Ichigo blinked and reviewed the past several minutes, momentarily panicked that he'd made another mistake, then scowled.

"YOU said it."

"I did?" The grey eyes blinked, looking deceptively innocent. Ichigo was beginning to go cross-eyed from staring upside-down. But he knew this ruse; his mentor used it too. The older man was fishing for a reaction.

"YES!"

"So I did!" He smiled and popped out of sight, leaving Ichigo blinking and trying to mentally re-orient his field of vision. The shuffling and clinking resumed, this time accompanied by Urahara's casual words. His tone was lighthearted and conversational, as if he wasn't speaking to a captive and a hollow. "And, now that we've established my identity, perhaps you would like to share your own?"

"Er…"

"It's only polite, after all."

Ichigo shifted restlessly. He hated when Urahara tried to get him to do or say something by talking in circles; he always left feeling like his mind was tied in knots and knowing he'd given away far more information than he'd intended. In the present, he generally just told his mentor anything he wanted to know. (The exile would get it eventually no matter what Ichigo did. Besides, he might seem a little shady but he was fundamentally a good guy. After everything they'd been through together, Ichigo knew he could trust him). He'd have to get over the conditioned response to respond automatically to that persuasive voice and stay quiet.

"Hollow-san?"

He grunted noncommittally, fixing his eyes on the ceiling. Ichigo could be extremely stubborn when he put his mind to it. If he wanted to be quiet, he was going to _stay_ quiet, no matter what this young version of Urahara said.

"Hollow-san, are you alright?"

Of course, that would be a lot easier if he could get up and leave or cover his ears. As it was, he squirmed in his restraints and scowled, keeping his eyes fixed.

In the periphery of his vision, Urahara wandered into sight. He stared down at his specimen, brow furrowed in confusion, then up where he was looking.

"Is there something on the ceiling?"

He sounded genuinely puzzled. Ichigo wasn't falling for it.

"Hm…" There was suppressed amusement in his tone this time. _Not looking…_

The blonde man paced around the table until he was at the foot. Even though he could feel the scientist's gaze observing him and sense his mounting amusement, the vizard refused to shift his focus.

"That's a bit childish, don't you think?"

_No. Go away! _

"Although you are rather young, surprisingly so…"

_Still not looking…_

"Would you like something to eat?"

_Not…_"Wait, what?"

"I'm sure there's some tea around here somewhere…"

"I'm not thirsty."

"No? Hungry then?"

"No." Ingesting _anything _that had come out of the twelfth division (or Urahara's shop) was a lesson he'd learned many times over in his own time. All too often, the so called 'edible' sweets turned out to be…enhanced. Unfortunately, his stomach chose that moment to growl angrily, reminding him that it had been almost twelve hours since he'd last eaten anything.

Urahara chuckled. "Are you sure?" His tone turned wheedling. "I'll let you off the table…"

Ichigo's heart leapt. He couldn't believe Urahara would be reckless enough to let him go, but if he could just get his arms free, he'd have a fighting chance to escape. And maybe this version wasn't so paranoid or experienced.

He grunted, trying to sound irritated and not too eager. No reason to tip him off if he truly didn't know. "Fine."

"Good, good…Just give me a moment to prepare…"

"Urahara-san, I really don't want any tea."

The older man paused at the use of his name, but did not comment.

"Alright, then."

Ichigo really wished he could see what sort of 'preparations' were underway. He jumped when pale blonde hair popped up over his head, framing Urahra's upside-down face and contrite expression.

"Apologies, Hollow-san, but this will probably hurt."

Before he could express his sudden alarm, Urahara fitted one hand over the back of his skull, lifting it up so the other hand could slip something over his head and settle it around his neck. It felt like warm rubber and for moment Ichigo was confused, but when he directed a bemused expression at Urahara, the other man shot him a nervous smile and lifted a small box into Ichigo's field of vision. It had a button on the side.

He had a split second to widen his eyes before the button was pressed and lightning crackled over his nerves, emanating from the collar and following the restraints crisscrossing his entire body.

* * *

Now that he was crouched across from the main entrance of the Fourth Division, the confidence Uryu had felt a couple hours before was running dangerously low. His reservations had grown teeth and were gnawing at the back of his mind.

Would the shinigami really treat an uninjured ryoka with hollow powers the same way they would an injured Quincy (or a human or a…whatever Ganju was)? And even if they would in the present, did they have the same policy a hundred years ago? He assumed Urahara would have told them if something so significant had changed, but the secretive shopkeeper had proven very cagey with information in the past and Uryu was reluctant to trust anything he said without proof.

Breaking into Unohana's domain without any evidence that Kurosaki was actually inside seemed like an awfully high risk, especially considering Uryu was now their only hope for escaping in time to meet the deadline. But he wouldn't learn anything new if he stayed outside fretting…

Kurosaki really was more trouble than he was worth.

With an irritated sigh, the Quincy slunk around the side of the building, looking for any sign that Ichigo was there (or not) and a more covert way in.

* * *

**Author's Notes**:

Oh Uryu...he'd probably be better off if he didn't over think everything. XD

And Ichigo's in a tricky situation, but it's infinitely better than if he was in anyone else's hands. Let's just hope Urahara doesn't have to leave for any reason. (Cue ominous music.)

.X.

The poll was a success! 'Temporal Displacement (Really Sucks)' will hereby be known as….

'Temporal Displacement (Really Sucks)'.

Over two thirds of the votes were to keep the title as it is. Thanks to everyone who participated! :)

My next poll will be on review responses: Which do you prefer: responses as soon as I receive the review or right before I post the next chapter? (The former is what I did for the first chapter; the latter is what I did for the second chapter.)

You can let me know by way of review or poll response. I love to hear from you guys and your input is very important.

.X.

I hope you liked this chapter & I look forward to hearing from you in the reviews!


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